


A Meowment Like This

by neptunedemon



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pet Store, Cats, Fluff, Humor, It's the only one I swear, Lowkey College AU Too, M/M, Somehow No Yurio Though?, Sorry not sorry about pun in title
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-25 03:11:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10755531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neptunedemon/pseuds/neptunedemon
Summary: Yuuri works at a pet store. One day a man he hasn't seen before comes in and demands to see all the cats. And he comes in again. And again. What's going on?!





	A Meowment Like This

**Author's Note:**

> This is all thanks to the prompt [_I work at the animal shelter and you always come in to pet the cats when you're sad_](http://onetruepairingideas.tumblr.com/post/109835750181/thrilling-new-au-scenarios-for-your-otps). Idek tbh lol?? 
> 
> I hope someone finds fun in this! Let me know with a kudo and/or a comment! <3~
> 
> Oh also for anyone who isn't from the US, sorry about the American college terminology. D:

 

Yuuri slung his book bag onto the table in the break room. He opened it up and began pulling out his work clothes.

The door creaked open and Chris stuck his head in. “How was the first day back?”

Pushing his glasses up his nose, Yuuri sighed. “It was okay I guess,” he answered lazily. The only question he had been asked all day, the only question any student had been asked all day, really – was how the first day of the spring semester had gone.

This was Yuuri’s fourth year – first days didn’t really faze him anymore. This was his last semester, and he just had to power through it. His computer science degree wasn’t hinging on any of the classes he was taking in the spring, so there wasn’t any pressure present to make him scared of failing and not graduating on time. Not that he was planning on failing, of course. He could have graduated early, but since his scholarships would still pay for his final semester, he had decided to tack an English minor onto his credentials, and therefore most of his assignments during these few months were going to be literature-centric. He had one computer science course on his schedule still, but overall it would be a contrast to the usual workload of compiler and database construction, computer theory, and coding. Yuuri was looking forward to it – but it was still just another semester.

“Morning classes this time, though?”

Yuuri grimaced as he folded his clothes into his arms. “Yep.”

Chris kept the door propped open with his foot and leaned against the frame, arms crossed. He observed Yuuri with amusement. “Well we are going to enjoy having you on the afternoon shift now.”

“I won’t,” Yuuri groaned with emphasis. He was not a morning person. Because the computer science department was made up of people who spent long hours staring at bright screens that kept their minds active well into the night, most non-introductory classes in the department were scheduled no earlier than 11:30 am. Yuuri had been spoiled by how much he had gotten to sleep in the past few semesters, getting to drag himself to class around noon until 4 or 5, then going to work until the shop closed at 8:30. He would stay up until 3 or 4 every night doing the living part of life.

But the English department had him at his first class at 8 am. This meant he ended around noon or one depending on the day. But he couldn’t justify leaving a gap in his day until he could come into work at 4, so he had taken early afternoon shifts.

But Chris laughed. “People actually buy animals during the day, though. You can do something that isn’t clean hamster shit.”

Yuuri cracked an amused smile at the truth contained within the sentence. “I’m going to change,” he said and brushed past Chris to head toward the bathroom.

 

* * *

 

 

Yes, Yuuri worked at a pet store.

On weekends he tutored students in the computer science and engineering department, but this was his primary job. His scholarships just barely covered the cost of tuition and a textbook here and there (when Yuuri actually bought the textbook for a class…); rent and food were left to his own devices, and so he had fallen into a job at the pet store downtown his freshman year. It was owned by the Giacomettis, a Swiss family; their son, Christophe, was the manager. It paid above minimum wage and wasn’t food service. And Chris made a fabulous manager and an even better friend. Plus, who would complain about being surrounded by animals all day?

It was a small shop, and so it was pretty cramped. The register was beside the entrance, and the place immediately branched off into shelves stacked high with pet supplies, cages filled with squawking birds, tanks of fish and lizards, cages of hamsters and mice, and cubbies built into the right wall full of sleeping cats.

The register had been placed by the entrance because it was easier to watch customers as they left to be sure they weren’t stealing anything, since full store visibility was pretty poor throughout the place.

Yuuri refilled the food bowls and changed the water for the cats, their sleeping bodies rising and falling slowly. He noticed they were a different set than his last shift: two tabby kittens and an older black cat. Cats were adopted fast, but there were always more being sent in or dropped off, so they always had at least one in need of a home. Yuuri smiled fondly at them, remembering how quickly he had adopted a kitten from here when he first started this job. He had been warned by Chris that the temptation to buy pets would be strong when first starting off, and Chris had been quickly proven right. Even his roommate, Phichit, had experienced the effect secondhand. Many a hamster had been bought from Yuuri's workplace over the years. Yuuri limited himself to the _one_ cat, though. He considered it an excellent show of self-discipline. 

Yuuri checked the schedule behind the register for when the last time the hamster, mouse, and rat cages were cleaned. He sighed. Thank goodness – someone had cleaned them the previous day.

A few people came and went, as always, squealing over how cute the kittens were and discussing how sad it was to have birds in cages. The usual.

Yuuri greeted each person anyway and assisted them in dragging the sleeping cats out to hold.

In general, Yuuri was not a social person – he would be the last to approach a stranger for something; but talking about animals was easy and pressure-free, and customers were nearly always in a good mood when inside a pet store.

“Everything going okay?” Chris asked when he came out to place something on a shelf.

Yuuri shrugged. “Yeah. Just another slow Monday.”

Chris nodded, and then handed Yuuri a clipboard with a printed list of numbers and products. “I have an annoying job for you. Can you check the prices on these products, and if they don’t match, change them?”

Yuuri took the clipboard with ease, appreciating the mindlessness of the task. It would pass the time. The early-afternoon shift, so far, definitely felt slow in comparison to his other shifts – evenings were usually a little busier, even if the customers that visited were usually just browsing and never actually adopted or bought something.  

“I don’t mind,” he said.

“You’re the best.” Chris flashed a grin and disappeared into the back office.

Yuuri admired Chris a lot; he was getting his Masters in Public Administration. He would make a good CEO or whatever, one day.

The doors chimed as someone entered.

Yuuri looked up with his typical customer service smile plastered on his face.

When he saw the person who had entered, his heart stuttered and his smile _almost_ did, but Yuuri was well-practiced.

Every so often a customer just happened to be extremely attractive; sometimes these customers were even a little flirtatious, and Yuuri had managed, over time, to learn to maintain a professional façade in the wake of these people. His tone of voice and expression could defy any shade of blush across his face well.

In the back of Yuuri’s mind, he noted that the man that just entered was definitely more attractive than most of those aforementioned "extremely attractive" customers. He pushed the thought away quickly.

“Welcome!” he greeted.

“Hi,” the man said in a Russian accent that caught Yuuri off-guard for a moment. The customer flashed a smile meant for the cameras and gave his head a slight toss so that the fringe of hair falling into his eyes shifted _slightly_ less in his eyes, but pretty much still there. The movement had immediately sucked Yuuri in, though, and he blinked hard to refocus.

“Can I help you with anything?”

The man had stopped in front of the entrance, and he was letting his eyes roam across Yuuri in such a slow, dramatic way that Yuuri almost felt it like something tangible brushing across his body. Yuuri coughed and adjusted his glasses, still waiting for an answer.

The man seemed to come back to himself. “Yes, actually.” He strolled over to the cat cubbies. Yuuri nearly sighed – of course this was just another person wanting to hold the cats and coo over how cute they were. It wasn't really annoying, but merely painfully unoriginal. 

“Would you do me the honor?”

“Sure,” Yuuri said in a happy-to-help tone that nearly made him wince. He hated how his voice sounded practically a whole octave higher when he was speaking with customers. The man gave him a small smirk, almost as if he knew Yuuri was being 100% fake too, and Yuuri felt his cheeks grow warm. He cleared his throat.

“Any specific one?” He took the keys hooked to his pants and began unlocking the doors. One of the cat’s ears twitched at the sound.

“All of them.”

Yuuri faltered for a moment. “Um, at once?” He shook his head. That was stupid. “I mean of course not. Just, one at a time, right?”

“Mhm.”

Yuuri was embarrassed and he didn’t entirely know why, except that he could feel this attractive man’s eyes on him as he fiddled with the lock and opened the cat doors, could feel him grin when he had offered to pull out all the cats at once, could practically sense his eyebrows raise in curiosity as Yuuri’s face had reddened at everything he did and said.

Yuuri pulled out one of the tabby cats first, handing it off to the customer gently. Its eyes blinked blearily.

The man held the kitten to his chest and pet it calmly. Yuuri was about to walk away and leave the man to it, but he spoke, “Are you new? I haven’t seen you here before.”

“Oh, really? I’ve worked here for four years.”

The man’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah,” Yuuri said with a shrug. Did it really matter? “I used to work evenings. This is my first earlier shift in a while.”

“Oh,” the man said, glancing down at the kitten in his arms for a few seconds. A smile flickered across his face as he stroked behind its ears. Yuuri noted that the customer was letting the kitten sleep; most cooed and cried out and roughly handled the animals so much that they were forced to wake up, if not also be a tad frightened. It often made Yuuri feel excessively bad for the little things.

“What made you change?”

“Oh, um.” Yuuri wasn’t used to customers actually carrying a conversation about personal things for this long. “I had to take morning classes this semester.”

“You’re a student?”

“Yeah. And you?” The last question was somewhat of an accident derived from the habit of deflecting customer kindness back at them, but now that it had been said, he found himself actually curious for the answer.

“I’m a student, too.”

This admittedly surprised Yuuri. The man before him seemed close to his age, but still older. And Yuuri was graduating, so…

“Grad student,” he clarified. “Getting a Ph.D.”

“Oh!” Yuuri gasped. “What are you studying?”

“Exercise physiology. This little guy is so cute. I’m sad the tiny white kitten from last week isn’t here, though.”

Yuuri’s eyebrows creased. He vaguely remembered that one, but then again, he had seen nearly a hundred tiny white kittens by now. “Had you been planning on adopting that one?”

“No, she was just sweet.” He handed the tabby back to Yuuri while asking, “So are you an undergrad?”

“Yes. I graduate this May, actually,” Yuuri explained while placing the tabby carefully back into the place it had been sleeping before. It immediately melted into its previous position. “Which one next?”

“How about the black one? Also, congratulations.”

Yuuri lifted the larger cat, a bit more wary of it since being an adult made it more likely to become irritated at being disturbed, but it lazily let itself be dragged from its bed. “Thanks,” he muttered as he handed the cat off to the customer. Yuuri’s hand brushed against the man’s for a second, and it was silly and inconsequential, but the touch sent a fury of heat to his face. Usually Yuuri tried hard not to touch against customers, but when he did, it was just awkward and something they both pretended to not notice; however, with this man’s intense, attractive gaze sweeping over Yuuri every few seconds, he felt exposed and vulnerable. Out of his element, somehow, despite him technically being the person in charge.

Agh, he was so weak.

“And what are you studying?” the man continued, seemingly ignorant to Yuuri's inner-turmoil. As he should be, because this customer was sane, while Yuuri was clearly not. 

“Computer science.”

“Ah, you’re a smart one, then.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes, then froze, suddenly aware that he just rolled his eyes playfully at a customer. He was supposed to laugh and go along with everything they said, not – _that_. He tried to shake it off. It was just that this was what people always accused him of in response to learning his major.

“Uh, not really. I just study well.”

The man laughed suddenly, and it was full and even sounded genuine; it stirred Yuuri’s heart, sent his stomach aflutter, and even the man seemed momentarily surprised at how funny he apparently thought Yuuri’s comment was. Which… it wasn’t, so why was he laughing?

“Okay, so you aren’t smart,” he said with a smirk, and his eyes glanced at Yuuri’s chest. At his nametag, Yuuri quickly understood. “Yuuri.”

Yuuri _almost_ stupidly asked what the customer’s name was, too. But he didn’t. On most days it was weird when customers started calling him by his name, as if they were clever for noticing it tagged to his chest in bold letters. 

But he hadn’t ever heard his name spoken under a layer of Russian before. So this was okay.

The office door swung open, and Chris exclaimed, “Hey, Viktor!”

The man – Viktor? – whirled around to face Chris, who was coming at them with hands on his hips and a smile across his face. “Here for your fix?”

Viktor scoffed. “Indeed I am.”

Chris glanced at Yuuri and realization crossed his expression. “Yuuri, you haven’t had Viktor as a customer before, have you?”

“No, I haven’t,” Yuuri answered, a little confused over how that was actually a big deal.

"He's a regular," Chris said, smiling knowingly at Yuuri. Yuuri wasn't sure if he was supposed to be intuitively picking up on some sort of secret signal from Chris, so he hoped he would enlighten him on the subject later when the customer in question wasn’t actually standing before them.

“How about that other tabby next?” Viktor asked.

It seemed like Chris was going to stay out on the floor to chat with Viktor, so Yuuri went back to checking the prices of products. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but some of the products needing price-checked were cat food and accessories, so he ended up hovering around Chris and Viktor as they spoke. Viktor asked Chris about his family, and Chris asked Viktor about his progress on his dissertation. Yuuri idly wondered if they were old friends.

When Viktor was ready to return the last cat, Chris assisted him, relieving Yuuri of the duty.

Yuuri was feeling comfortable again with everything business-as-usual, but as he lifted himself from where he had been bent over checking bottom-shelf product prices, he casually glanced toward Viktor and caught his eye. Chris was talking, gesturing wildly over a story he had already shared with Yuuri earlier during his shift; Viktor held Yuuri’s stare for a moment. Yuuri felt familiar heat creep up his neck and into his face, but Viktor looked away after another second. The corner of his lips were twitching with the hint of a suppressed smile.

Yuuri swallowed hard and decided to check the rest of the feline products later, hurrying off toward another section of the store.

 

* * *

 

 

By the time Viktor left, Yuuri was behind the register again. A few customers had come in to buy pet food. Viktor didn’t buy anything, but had stared over the head of the customer Yuuri was presently dealing with to say, “It was nice to meet you, Yuuri.” He was out the door before Yuuri could shake his surprise and offer his own farewell.

When all the customers had cleared again, Chris turned on Yuuri. “So what did you think of Viktor?”

Yuuri finished counting the stack of bills he was holding from the drawer. He wrote the amount down before answering Chris with a simple, “He was nice.”

Chris rolled his eyes like he didn’t believe Yuuri. Or perhaps like he didn't believe that was _all_ Yuuri possibly had to say. “I think he totally liked you.”

Yuuri gave Chris and incredulous look. The statement was too absurd for him to even be flustered by it. “We talked about school,” he told Chris flatly, hoping to prove how unremarkable of an experience Yuuri had been for Viktor.

Chris huffed a small laugh. “Well either way, you’ll be seeing him a lot from now on.”

Yuuri started at that. He'd forgotten what Chris had said earlier - that Viktor was a "regular."

“How - how often does he come in?”

“Viktor drops by several times a week.”

Yuuri opened his mouth to ask Chris explain the burning question of why exactly Viktor came around so much, but his mind quickly threw together the small shreds of Viktor he had witnessed today, and instead said, “To see the cats?”

Chris nodded and leaned against the counter. “Yep, exactly.”

“Why? He doesn’t adopt them, does he?” Yuuri had the brief, uncomfortable image of Viktor living in a shabby apartment filled with cats. He shook the unpleasant picture from his mind.

“Nah,” Chris reassured him. “But you know about cat therapy, right?”

Yuuri narrowed his eyes. “I guess so.” It was true. Petting animals – especially cats – was supposed to help lower blood pressure and assist in relaxation. But why wouldn’t Viktor just adopt a cat to experience the benefits of owning one?

Chris pressed closer to Yuuri, voice lowering to a whisper. “But he’s pretty like, you know, _yum,_ right?”

“Chris!” Yuuri scolded, trying to sound appalled, but his cheeks flared. “We’re at work!”

Chris grinned at him knowingly, and Yuuri pointedly began counting the drawer again.

 

* * *

 

 

“Definitely going to have to get used to sleeping earlier,” Yuuri muttered, half his words swelled by a yawn, as he entered work the next day.

“Oh yeah? Rough morning?”

“ _Early_ morning,” Yuuri corrected, pulling work clothes from his bag before he was even in the break room.

Chris followed. “And you went to bed at what time?”

Yuuri hesitated. “…Two.”

“And you complain about being tired?”

“It’s hard to adjust!” he whined as he tossed his bag onto the table and headed for the bathroom.

“Just hurry so I can let the other guy go home, and don’t fall asleep on your shift!” Chris called after him.

As Yuuri changed, he idly wondered if he was going to see Viktor again. Chris had said he came in a lot, but hadn’t exactly said when or what days. There must be some schedule he regularly followed, Yuuri thought. Since he had never run into him before.

Still, he glanced at himself in the mirror; he didn’t care what he looked like on most days, but Yuuri found himself begrudging the fact that he was stuck wearing tacky work clothes. He ran his fingers through his hair in a lame attempt to make it neater, adjusted his glasses, and went to take his place at the register.

 

* * *

 

 

Viktor did come in again.

Yuuri had admittedly been slacking during his shift, leaving against the counter, maybe only _almost_ dozing… 

Luckily, the door chime that went off each time it was opened also functions as a pretty effective alarm.

“H-hi!” he stammered. “Viktor. How are you today?”

Viktor smiled a very pretty smile, and Yuuri thought for a moment he seemed happy to see him standing there behind the counter, too.

“I’m well,” he answered as he stopped at the counter. He leaned into it. “Were you having a nice nap?”

Yuuri stepped back in surprise at both the sudden nearness of Viktor, but also the accusation. “Oh, you… noticed that?” He forced a small laugh. “I mean no, I wasn’t sleeping.”

“It’s only day two of the semester. Are things that rough?” Viktor teased.

“I just need to sleep earlier,” Yuuri complied, unsure where the bounds of professionalism laid when it came to Viktor. He glanced at where the cats were held. “You wanna…?”

Viktor nodded. “Of course.”

 

* * *

 

 

After several days of coming to the pet store with Yuuri working, Viktor decided it officially. The new guy – or new to Viktor, whatever, was entirely adorable. How had Chris never mentioned him?

He fumbled with his glasses and twisted his hands when he was nervous; he constantly tried to maintain a professional façade but desperately failed to do so with Viktor around; and he flustered so easily during all of the aforementioned quirks. He was _fun_ in some small way that was hard to explain, because after all, they were just meeting in a pet store. But there was something about his twitchy, unsettled presence and nervous glances that kept Viktor’s heartrate just a beat too fast. And he seemed so sweet and gentle; he hadn’t even asked Viktor why he came in every day to hold all their cats. One had been adopted since the first day. Viktor had been happy for the kitten; it was one of the tabbies. But Yuuri apologized that there was one less cat for him to interact with. And still he didn’t ask questions! Viktor wouldn’t have minded because people always asked – however the respect for privacy intrigued him.

Perhaps Yuuri didn’t care and so he didn’t wonder – or maybe he cared all too much and made it into a big deal in his mind, keeping him from asking.

Viktor tried not to dwell obsessively upon it. But Yuuri's presence definitely made coming to the pet store more appealing than it had ever been before. 

He pushed open the doors of the pet store. Yuuri immediately looked up. A grin spread across his face, warm and comfortable, and Viktor’s chest tightened.

Yuuri pressed a scrap of paper into the pages of a book and set it onto the counter.

Viktor raised an eyebrow and flashed him a teasingly suspicious look. “Reading on the job?”

Despite the fact that it was obviously a joke, Yuuri’s cheeks tinged pink, and he cast his gaze downwards. “Don’t tell Chris,” he said with a lowered voice. “But yeah. I’m behind on the readings for one of my classes already. And I’m so tired that I know I’ll fall asleep trying to read tonight.”

Viktor glanced at the title of the book. He didn’t recognize it despite considering himself a fairly avid reader.

“ _A Tale for the Time Being_ ,” he read the title aloud. “Is it good?”

Yuuri was beginning to shuffle with the keys hooked to his pants, presumably reaching for the key to the cat cubby door. “Yeah, actually. I like it because half of it takes place in Japan and the author is Japanese, so she uses the language a lot.”

“When was the last time you were in Japan?”

Yuuri was walking toward the cat cubbies, still sifting through the keys on his person. Viktor idly watched his hands work through the clump of keys.

“It’s been almost five years,” he answered with a guilty tone. “Since before school.” Finally he gave up trying to slide the correct key off and unhooked the entire loops from himself.

“Do you have plans to return?” Yuuri fumbled for the right key again before slipping it into the lock. The older cat began to stir at the sound, lifting itself into a position so that it could stretch and arch its back. Soon after, Yuuri was pulling it out and handing it to Viktor. His hands brushed against Viktor’s forearms and Viktor focused on the cat in his arms to avoid dwelling on the contact too much. They always touched just a little as Yuuri handed cats off to Viktor; it had gotten to the point that he almost felt like they were both – albeit extremely subconsciously – tweaking necessary movements just enough that they did so.

It was sort of like a game…

Viktor knew he was being ridiculous to rationalize so much chemistry between them, but – it honestly made him happy.

He pet the cat, relaxing slightly into the small vibrations of its purrs against his chest.

“Hopefully when I graduate,” Yuuri said. It took Viktor’s mind a few seconds to catch up with the conversation, having drifted a little away from reality. “What about you and Russia?”

“Same, I guess,” Viktor answered, disinterested in discussing his own life. “Been a while since I was there, will probably go back for a while after I get my Ph.D.”

An amused smirk broke across Yuuri’s face, and it was so cute but also smug, which was quite the juxtaposition to Yuuri’s typical modest demeanor. “Are you excited to be _Dr_. Nikiforov?”

Viktor started. How did Yuuri know his last name?

But – _oh_ , Chris probably told him.

Although Yuuri seemed to also realize his own words. The pink of his cheeks deepened in color and spread further throughout his face, reaching the tips of his ears, and his eyes were once again darting to look anywhere but into Viktor’s own.

Viktor decided to let him off easy.

“I am looking forward to it. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

Yuuri relaxed. “Yeah, yes. It definitely does.”

“Have you considered _doctor_ …” Viktor let his voice trail off in wait of an answer. Fair was fair; if Yuuri knew his surname, it was only fair to know his.

Yuuri became flustered again. “Uh, Katsuki.”

“Dr. Katsuki?” He drawled out the syllables to try the name on his tongue. He liked it.

Yuuri’s eyes widened. “U-uhm, no, I –“ he blinked a few times, shaking his head slightly. “I mean no, I don’t want to keep going to school.”

Viktor smiled, understanding. “Don’t blame you. A computer science degree probably lands a job pretty easily anyway, huh?”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. “That’s what they say. I’m not employed yet though.”

The door at the front of the store chimed as someone entered. Viktor almost sighed his disappointment that Yuuri would have to leave him to tend to other customers. He enjoyed the small talk they made, although every day the small talk grew a little less small and a little more substantial.  

Yuuri glanced between the front of the store and Viktor a few times, appearing reluctant as well. But Viktor watched as the wall of Positive Employee suddenly slammed down across his features: Yuuri straightened up, smiled, and walked quickly to greet the new arrival.

“Welcome!” he heard him call in a similar manner from when Viktor had walked in earlier in the week, voice a pitch higher than what sounded comfortable. “Can I help you?”

_Please say no, please say no_ , Viktor thought shamelessly.

“Yes, actually! I was looking to buy a pet fish.”

Viktor rolled his eyes.

He only then recalled the cat in his arms.

That was… odd. It was still purring, but he had long since ceased actively petting it, his hand resting on its back instead, motionless.

He decided to think nothing of it. Yuuri was admittedly a bit of a distraction. But Viktor came here to be distracted. It all equaled the same thing, really.

Which it totally didn’t, because one distraction was a pile of kittens and the other was an attractive human being, but Viktor let the thought fall away.

 

* * *

 

 

Yuuri had used the weekend to catch up on sleep and book readings. Thus when he arrived to work after class Monday, he was feeling pretty rejuvenated.

He was getting a lot done around the store. Chris had stepped out for a late lunch, so he was temporarily manning the place. The period of 1:00 to 3:00 wasn’t very active, though; only a few customers would pass through during this time, so Yuuri wasn’t concerned with being alone. However, Viktor usually came near two.

Something in his stomach fluttered at the thought. He hadn’t seen Viktor since Friday, and he was admittedly excited to see him again. But it was normal to have favorite customers, right?

The thought led to another thought, and suddenly Yuuri found himself wondering how he would react if they met outside of his workplace.

What if Viktor _asked_ Yuuri to meet him outside of work?

He blushed at the notion in artificial anticipation. They got along well, in Yuuri’s opinion. But he was also just a silly undergraduate pet store boy and Viktor didn’t know anything about him.

Yeah, no. Yuuri could fantasize all he wanted, but he didn’t own enough redeeming qualities to attract someone like Viktor.

The door chimed and his heart jumped. If it was Viktor, he was early.

“Yuuri!” someone called, and although the voice was familiar, it wasn’t Viktor’s. But Yuuri wasn’t disappointed.

“Phichit!” His roommate! “What are you doing here?”

“Thought I would stop by and say hi,” he said with his typical large, goofy smile, but already he was glancing toward the back of the store.

“You want to see the hamsters,” Yuuri accused.

“No!” Phichit protested with his hands up. And then, “Well, I mean, now that _you_ mention it, Yuuri, maybe I could?”

Yuuri rolled his eyes at his friend, already reaching for his keys. “Come on,” he said, nodding toward the back of the store. Phichit owned enough hamsters already; all the ones from this store had been bought in Yuuri's name so he could get Phichit his employee discount. But now Yuuri was constantly talking him out of getting more.  Phichit had apparently decided to make up for this by pretending the hamsters at the pet store were also his. 

Phichit gave an excited yelp and followed Yuuri, rambling about his day. Yuuri listened patiently, smiling at his friend’s undergraduate struggles he described. They were familiar to Yuuri, like old memories. Phichit wasn’t graduating yet; he still had another two years to go.

“Wait!” Phichit gasped suddenly. He looked around the store with wide eyes as if they weren’t clearly the only ones around. “Where is that one guy?”

“Uh, Chris?”

“No, not your boss! The one you’ve been telling me about.”

“Oh.” Yuuri flushed. “Yeah, he – Viktor hasn’t been here yet today.”

“Will I get to run into him, you think?”

Yuuri unlocked the top of the hamster cage and slid the lid back. “If you spend enough time with your rodent friends, maybe.”

“Perfect then,” Phichit answered, adding, “And don’t call them rodents!”

Yuuri suddenly wasn’t sure if he wanted his roommate and best friend to meet the strange customer at work that Yuuri had semi-stalked online. He had merely been curious about his activity at the university. But then he’d realized he didn’t know his last name and had needed to find that, and that had led to him discovering a few social media accounts… one thing had led to another, really. It was harmless.

Still embarrassing, though. Phichit had been amused by the whole ordeal, although he had insisted nothing was as weird as Yuuri was making it out to be.

Phichit was already pulling hamsters out. Technically only one per customer was allowed to be out of the cage at a time, but Phichit wasn’t just another customer and had plenty of experience handling hamsters, considering how often he let them run wild in his room at their apartment. So Yuuri let him cover himself in the crawling critters.

“I’ll be back,” he said suddenly, remembering something Chris had asked him to check.

Plenty entertained now, Phichit answered, “’Kay!” and proceeded to coo at the small creatures. Sometimes Yuuri wondered if Phichit had been taught the language of the hamsters and was actually communicating with them, willing them to do his bidding. 

Yuuri shuffled back to the front of the store and pulled out the clipboard of tasks from behind the counter. He skimmed through the papers, reviewing what the previous shifts’ employees had handled over the weekend. He was checking for any tasks they hadn’t properly logged or perhaps completed at all.

Only a few minutes had passed when Phichit yelled something unintelligible. And then, “Oh shit oh shit!”

Yuuri winced, unaccustomed to hearing Phichit use harsh language. Then his heart dropped. What had happened? Oh god, he had left a customer alone with the animals. If something went wrong, it wouldn’t matter that it was just his roommate.

“What is it?” Yuuri called back to Phichit, quickly walking to where the hamster cages were, unable to see them from the register.

“Watch your step!” Phichit yelled, scrambling into view. His eyes were wildly scanning across the floor. Yuuri halted; he noticed immediately that there was a distinct lack of hamster scrambling across Phichit. He prayed they were just hiding in his clothes or had been returned to their cage.

“Where are the hamsters, Phichit?” he slowly asked, drawing out the seconds to postpone the moment he would have to hear the answer.

Phichit carefully met his eyes, his face scrunched up in a guilty expression. “I, um…”

“Phichit…”

“I dropped them!” he admitted with a wince.

“ _Dropped_ them?”

“I don’t know what happened! They suddenly got excited and started squirming around and fell to the floor!” Phichit lowered himself to the linoleum and began scanning under the shelves. “But we can find them!”

Yuuri groaned. “They could be anywhere! And Chris might be back any moment.”      

“Then let’s hurry. Wait! I think I see one under there!” He was pointing toward a space under one of the shelves. “Get a broom or something so we can chase it out, Yuuri. Quick!”

Yuuri obeyed, his mind racing to figure out the easiest way to deal with this. Chris would be mad but Phichit was right – the hamsters could be collected. But Phichit would probably never be allowed to take them out of their cage again.

“How many did you lose?” He handed the broom to Phichit, who took a hold of it and immediately began pushing it under the shelf.

“There he goes!” Phichit exclaimed as he launched forward, hand disappearing for a moment under the shelf. “Oh! I got him!”

“How many?” Yuuri repeated.

“I’m not sure. How many were in the cage?”

Yuuri glanced at the cage only to have exasperation fill him. It was empty: Phichit had lost _all_ the hamsters. He momentarily wondered how Phichit had managed to take them all out in the first place.

“I’m going to have to find our list and check how many there were,” he sighed.

“Well we have one back!” Phichit set the one he’d just caught back into the cage.

Yuuri pointed at him and sternly said, “ _You_ keep searching. I’ll be back.”

He went to the register and pulled out papers, searching for the log of animals they kept, idly considering how desperately the store needed to upgrade to electronic databases. Maybe he could help with that… 

_“Seven?”_ he whined.

Phichit’s head poked out from behind one of the shelves. “Sounds about right,” he answered sheepishly. “And I think you mean six now.”

Yuuri slapped the paper down aggressively onto the counter, rolling his eyes at the idea of how long this would take.

“If I get fired, you’re covering my share of this month’s rent.”

“Fair!” Phichit agreed and disappeared behind the shelf again.

Yuuri sighed, took a deep breath, and got to his knees to begin the search. The floor, he noticed, needed mopped badly. So there was something the weekend team had skimped on after all. He wished he hadn't noticed it, because noticing it made it his job now. 

Peering around didn't help much, so Yuuri listened carefully for a scuffling or squeaking. Instead he heard the chime of the door. It struck Yuuri like the pound of a gong, announcing Chris’s return. He withheld a groan and sat up to face his demise – but it wasn’t Chris.

“Viktor!” he gasped, glancing at the clock on the wall and above the counter. He was early.

Viktor froze halfway through the entrance to stare down at Yuuri, expression caught between confusion and surprise. He opened his mouth to presumably ask what on earth Yuuri was doing, but Phichit’s yell interrupted.

“Yuuri! I think two are coming your way!”

Yuuri’s eyes snapped to the open door. Jumping to his feet, he lunged forward to grab Viktor around the waist and pull him inside. He yanked the door shut, praying there weren’t already small critters in the entrance on their way to freedom.

“Um, Yuuri? What’s happening?” Viktor asked in bewilderment, but his gaze was directed downward where Yuuri's arm was wrapped around him. Yuuri quickly released him, embarrassed mingling with the relief that there were no squished hamsters in the doorway. He turned around and saw one scamper under another shelf. 

“We are having a small crisis,” Yuuri explained. He had a good idea suddenly, and he turned the OPEN sign in the door window around so that it read CLOSED on the outside. Just for now.

“Oh, is this Viktor?”

Phichit was standing up and wiping his hands on his jeans. His eyes were actively examining Viktor.

Yuuri avoided Viktor’s expression, knowing that Phichit’s knowledge of his name and who he was acted as a clear signal that he had been talked about.

“The soon-to-be Dr. Nikiforov?” Phichit continued unhelpfully, grinning. He was either entirely oblivious or purposefully trying to humiliate Yuuri.

“Um, Viktor, this is my roommate, Phichit Chulanont.”

Phichit extended an eager hand, and Viktor took it without hesitance. “Nice to meet you, Phichit,” he said with a friendly smile.

"You too!" Phichit said before turning to Yuuri. “Can he help us? You can’t let the cats out until we get all the hamsters anyway.”

Yuuri shot him a threatening look that was meant to convey something along the lines of _shut up shut up oh my god,_ but Phichit had already redirected his attention, analyzing Viktor again.

“So what is going on?” Viktor asked, eyebrows raised while he smirked at Yuuri. Yuuri felt overwhelmed – and it was all from the attention and the embarrassment of how wildly out-of-control this situation had become.  He was supposed to be in charge, but instead he was tongue-tied and flustered. But Viktor was still waiting for an explanation.

He took a deep breath. “Phichit let all the hamsters loose,” he fired off while glaring at his friend.

Viktor huffed a laugh. “That explains why you were crawling across the floor.”

“You don’t have to help,” Yuuri explained quickly. “But I should probably hurry and find them. Chris will be back any minute.”

“I’ll help,” Viktor said with nonchalance. And then he added, “Like your friend here said, we can’t get the cats out until then.”

Yuuri glanced side-ways at Phichit. "Actually, couldn't the cats help find them?" he asked, joking. Mostly.

"Yuuri, no!" Phichit scolded and ran off to resume the hunt.

 

* * *

 

 

It was horrifying. The three of them crawled across the floor searching for hamsters, and even though it wasn’t _technically_ Yuuri’s fault, every hamsterless second that passed immersed him deeper in guilt. They were wasting Viktor’s time.

“You need to clean under these shelves,” Phichit commented.

“I probably do. And I wouldn't have to know that if you hadn’t caused this.”

“Got one!” Viktor called from somewhere in the store. “How many left now?” Yuuri could hear him moving the lid off the cage to set the hamster inside.

“I think there’s two left now,” Yuuri said. “Wait!” He saw something disappear behind a bag of dog food on the shelf adjacent to him. On his hands and knees, he crawled carefully across the floor, trying to be as quiet as possible. Sure enough, a hamster was nibbling on the back corner of the bag. He reached out to grab it and caught it successfully.

“Got one?”

Yuuri turned on his knees to see Viktor standing by him. He quickly let his gaze drop to his hands holding the hamster, a strange feeling passing through him at the vulnerability of his position.

“Um, yes, I did.”

“I’ll take him for you.” Viktor stepped forward and held out a hand.

“Th-thanks.” Yuuri handed the squirming critter over. He intended to set it in Viktor’s open hands, but Viktor suddenly moved to cup his palms around Yuuri’s hands, grazing their skin as he _eventually_ pulled the hamster from Yuuri’s grasp.

“Uh – thanks,” Yuuri managed. He belatedly remembered he already thanked him.

Viktor smirked, probably noticing. Yuuri’s knees felt weak against the tile.

“I got the last one then!” Phichit called.

Taking advantage of the interruption, Yuuri quickly got to his feet. He moved to flip the sign on the door back to OPEN.

“Oh my gosh, I see Chris coming in the distance. No one mention this, okay?”

“Of course,” Viktor agreed.

“You know,” Phichit chided as he came back to the front of the store. “You aren’t supposed to leave me alone with the animals. This was technically your fault.”

“Right.” Yuuri jabbed a finger at his friend. “Which means I won’t let you see the hamsters again.”

“Wait, hey! Yuuri! That isn’t fair.”

Viktor chuckled in amusement at their antics, and Yuuri felt warm inside.

They all turned as the bell announced Chris’s entrance; he took one look at them all and his eyes narrowed. “Why does everyone look so guilty?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey Viktor!” Yuuri greeted him warmly. Like he did every day. Like he _had_ every day for several weeks now. The warmth of his tone always reached across the space between them and found its way into Viktor’s chest; it was a light, feathery feeling. It reminded him of a cat’s purr, now that he thought about it. Peaceful and seeping and slow.

Viktor cleared his throat. “Not a book this time?” he asked, glancing down at the penciled notes in front of Yuuri.

“Unfortunately not,” Yuuri grimaced. “I have one computer science class this semester. And well… It’s kind of hard.”

Viktor took a closer look at the writing before Yuuri. “Wow,” he praised. “That… does look hard.” He meant it – whatever computer language Yuuri was writing in was so beyond him that Yuuri could have told him he was studying some ancient, dead language and he would have believed it.

At the top of some of the pages, Yuuri had written a date and then the abbreviation _AI_.

Artificial intelligence?

Yuuri was _smart_ , Viktor realized with a tug at his heart. He hadn’t assumed he wasn’t, of course – but witnessing it firsthand did something strange to him. It made how adorable Yuuri was almost intimidating. 

“It’s stupid, I know,” Yuuri bemoaned, pulling the papers from the counter and shoving them into a notebook.

“Definitely not stupid,” Viktor argued.

Yuuri grabbed the key to the cat door of the counter; a couple weeks ago he had stopped keeping it attached to the rest of them. Or maybe he just took it off each day at the start of his shift. Viktor wasn’t sure, but it flattered him.

“How’s the dissertation?”

“I think I have a date set for when I’ll defend,” he said. He felt the familiar twinge of stress he always did when thinking about it.

“Ohh, that’s exciting.”

Viktor forced a small laugh, but said, “No, not really.”

Yuuri paused thoughtfully with the key in the lock. And then he turned to look at him and said, “You’re right, I’m sorry. That sounds awful and stressful as heck. I couldn’t handle that.”

He turned back to open the door. “But you’ll do well. I know that much.”

The store had experienced cat turnover again. The three inside the wall containment were all kittens, two gray and one orange.

Yuuri handed him the orange one first. Their arms brushed, Viktor’s hand grazed all the way down Yuuri’s forearm. Yuuri lingered a second too long.

Yeah, it was definitely a game.

“Thanks,” Viktor said, remembering to answer. “And yes, it’s awful.” He paused. “Yuuri…”

“Mhm?” He was reaching into the compartment to pet one of the gray kittens.

“Why haven’t you ever asked me why I come here?”

“Oh.” Yuuri looked at him, expression blank. Then his eyebrows furrowed. “Do you want me to? I just assumed it was… personal, or something.”

Viktor couldn’t help but laugh at that. Yuuri reddened when he did, and _wow_ he was just so cute. “Now I definitely want you to ask because whatever you’ve assumed is probably much worse than the truth.”

Yuuri seemed alarmed. “No!” he squeaked, waving his hands frantically. “I don’t assume anything!” He gestured to the cat in Viktor’s arms. “People visit all the time to just look at the animals. It’s not _that_ weird that someone might come in… a little more often. You know?”

He pushed up his glasses at the end of his spiel, watching Viktor carefully over the tops of the frames. When he blinked a few times, Viktor’s heart fluttered.

“Um, um.” He swallowed hard, attempting to gather his words and thoughts into something comprehensible. “Well, while you’re right… I’ll still tell you.”

“Okay,” Yuuri said. One of his hands fiddled idly with the keys at his side. He waited patiently.

“It isn’t a big deal at all. Cats just relax people, you know? They’re good for stress. So that’s all, really. I stop here on my way home to pet them because they help me come down from my long days.”

“Oh!” Yuuri exclaimed so loudly that Viktor almost jumped. The cat in his arms fidgeted restlessly. “Chris mentioned cat therapy the first day you came in!”

Viktor rolled his eyes. “That’s a bit of a dramatic term, I think. But sure. I come here for cat therapy.”

“Do you not have any pets?”

He sighed. “A dog, actually. But she’s back in Russia. I can’t give her all the attention she would need while I’m in school. And my apartment doesn’t allow pets anyway.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened. “That’s so sad,” he commented.

“Which part?”

“Well that you can't have pets at all is sad. But mostly that you can’t have your dog with you. I understand, though.”

Viktor stroked the cat in his arms. “You do?”

Yuuri directed his gaze to someplace just past Viktor. “I had that same issue too. My dog stayed behind in Japan with my family. But… he…”

“I’m sorry.”

Yuuri shrugged and blinked a few times. “A-Anyway, I actually have a cat.”

For some reason this surprised Viktor. Perhaps he thought Yuuri would have mentioned such a thing sooner. “Oh?”

“Yep. And Phichit has hamsters… although those don’t do anything. But maybe instead of coming here, one day you could come to my –“ Yuuri paused and his eyes blew wide like he was only just registering what he was saying.

Viktor’s expression likely mirrored Yuuri’s, but he attempted to compose himself. It wasn’t that he was dismayed by the proposition, but rather that he figured their first meeting outside of the pet store would be at a café or something. And that _he_ would be the one to initiate an invitation. Not shy, bashful little Yuuri. 

“Never mind,” Yuuri said quickly, and his heart sank. Sank low. That was actually more disappointing than Viktor would have predicted. 

Viktor opened his mouth to speak – to hint that it was okay and prompt him to continue – but Yuuri began to nervously ramble.

“Gosh, Chris has been in the office a while. I think we are hiring someone new and that they’re coming in for an interview this evening so he is having to stay late. He’s probably irritated about it, but apparently the interviewee is a high school kid so they couldn’t come until after 3. Hah!”

“Uh, um-”

“I better get back to work. Let me know if you need anything!”

Yuuri began to hurry away. He hadn’t ever left Viktor alone before, not completely – if he worked, he tended to things nearby. As far as Viktor understood that was technically the rules here, but… he sighed. Suddenly he felt like going home.

 

* * *

 

 

As soon as Viktor left, Chris emerged from the office.

“Did Viktor just leave?” he asked conversationally.

“Yeah.”

“Does he come every day?”

Yuuri gave Chris an odd look. “Yes, but you knew that, didn't you?”

Chris shrugged. “Not really. It was always two or three times a week before.”

Yuuri tried not to think into that, but Chris did it for him. “It’s definitely to see you, Yuuri.”

“Chris, no.” But he was struggling to not grin.

Chris nudged him. “You can deny it but you two have definitely been getting along out here. I notice how much work you don’t get done around 2:00. Are you guys going to ever meet outside of the store?”

Heart thumping, Yuuri reddened at the memory of his awkward moment earlier. He still wasn’t sure what had come over him. He had almost invited Viktor _to his apartment._

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Yuuri muttered in submission. “He’s just a customer.”

Chris ignored the sentiment entirely and flashed a devilish smile as he clapped a hand on Yuuri’s shoulder. “Well in case it comes up between you two, you have my permission to woo our customers. It’s good for business.”

“Chris!”

But he was already heading back to the office.

 

* * *

 

 

It was Monday. Yuuri had, once again, tried to get his life up to speed over the weekend. He was feeling well-rested at least, although his AI theory test that Friday was already beginning to weigh on him, dampening every bright mood with the crushing weight of responsibility.

Maybe he needed to pet cats more often, too.

At the now usual slightly-earlier-than-usual time, Viktor entered.

“Hey!” Yuuri greeted. He tried to shove the memory of what had occurred between them last Friday into the back of his mind. Maybe Viktor was doing that, too, because he gave him a long, careful stare, before finally breaking into a crooked smile. It made Yuuri’s heart melt. He was so beautiful and composed.

“Hi, Yuuri,” Viktor greeted smoothly. Today the sound of his name in Viktor’s voice felt intimate. Yuuri almost shivered through the sound of it. 

He fumbled with the keys before remembering that he had set out the right key earlier that day and grabbed it from the counter. Walking to the cat section, he knocked his glasses higher up his nose with a nudge of his shoulder. Viktor’s eyes burned into the back of his head, and then his hands as he unlocked the cat doors, as always. Viktor always just watched him. Yuuri had grown used to the supervision, but today felt like day one all over again.

When Yuuri handed Viktor one of the kittens, he indulged himself in the usual soft, brief touch of Viktor’s skin. He almost felt guilty about it, now – Viktor thought he was just being handed a cat, but Yuuri was seeking some cheap thrill from momentary contact with Viktor. His skin was warm and smooth, and it always sent Yuuri’s heart went reeling, especially now as Viktor brushed against his entire forearm as he took the kitten from him.

Viktor watched him carefully as they traded the cat, and it took Yuuri a moment to realize he had paused in handing the cat off during a moment of particular nearness. He blushed furiously and backed away.

Viktor seemed insistent on talking with Yuuri, although Yuuri felt too flustered to focus on a conversation much. When he tried to walk away and feign work, however, Viktor resorted to following him around. So Yuuri gave up faking business – Chris had been right; he was entirely useless in Viktor’s presence and never got anything done. He simply pretended. Always.

They talked about school, and then customer service, and suddenly they were comparing Japanese, Russian, and American cultures, and the particular stark differences and respective misconceptions that had made each of their first years in America awkward, laughing at themselves and each other. They had long since put the cats away. Several customers had come and gone, and Yuuri admittedly hadn’t tried extremely hard to attend them while speaking with Viktor.

Chris had left his office a few times, but he left them alone despite how Yuuri was being extremely unproductive. At one point he had even given Yuuri a thumbs-up behind Viktor’s back, to which Yuuri abruptly looked away from and ignored.

It was not until the clock was actually nearing the end of his shift that Yuuri realized… well, that it was near the end of his shift.. And Viktor was still there. He’d never stayed this long before.

Yuuri was behind the counter with Viktor leaning against the side. Was he _waiting_ for his shift to end? Yuuri wondered if he should ask, but wasn’t sure exactly what he would say.

A lull in their conversation had formed. Yuuri filled it easily with pretending to organize the counter and adjust money in the register, but Viktor watched him carefully. Observantly.

He emanated an aura of calculation, as if he was trying to decide whether or not to say something.

Yuuri tried to act normal. His heart was pounding in his chest despite his attempts to stay calm, of course.

“So when do you get off?” Viktor finally asked, breaking a long silence between them.

Yuuri glanced at the clock. “In twenty minutes.”

Viktor nodded. Yuuri looked away. Adjusted his glasses. Cleared his throat. Opened the register drawer. Shut it again.

“So,” he tried. He glanced at the clock again. Twenty seconds had passed. “It’s getting pretty late.”

He winced; bad line. It was almost four. Not late at all. 

“Indeed it is.” Viktor walked to the front of the counter where a customer would usually stand. Yuuri kept his eyes on his hands while he fiddled with a piece of receipt paper.

Yuuri would have pulled back in alarm, awkwardness, or something of the sort, had he not been too stunned while it was happening – for as he toyed with paper, one of Viktor’s hands slowly slid onto the counter and within his view. Yuuri froze.

And then Viktor pulled one of Yuuri’s hands away from the crumpled paper and twined their fingers. Yuuri let him, fingers loose and unresistant, and Viktor folded each one of his in the spaces between Yuuri's.

It hit Yuuri, then – that everything, all the little touches between them had been mutual, like some sort of affectionate game. He flushed heavily, eyes unable to move from where they stared at his hand intertwined with someone else’s. 

“Yuuri.”

Yuuri still couldn’t look up. His heart beat so heavily that is what a force nearly knocking him over. He could hear his blood rushing through his face.

_“Yuuri,”_ Viktor said again, and the drag of Viktor’s voice across the syllables of his name pulled his gaze upward finally. Viktor was watching him carefully, but with a warm, inviting smile.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, voice suddenly soft and caring.

“Yes,” Yuuri answered in a fast whisper. Control beyond his conscious mind, Yuuri tightened his fingers around the embrace their hands were in. Yuuri hadn't realized how empty and lacking all their previous slight touches had been. Suddenly holding Viktor's hand was like locking a part of Yuuri into place that he hadn't known was dislodged. 

“What are you doing after your shift?” Viktor asked, and despite the lowered pitch of his voice, it sounded like such a normal, casual question.

_Homework_ , Yuuri wanted to answer as a joke. Because technically that’s what he would have done after work. Not now, of course. No matter what happened next. He wouldn’t be able to think for days.

"Nothing," he answered instead.

“Would you join me for dinner, perhaps? My treat.”

_OH god it’s happening it’s happening._ Briefly, Yuuri could see the smug faces of Phichit and Chris flash through his mind, but they faded quickly because Viktor was staring at him, smiling and affectionate and he didn’t even have a cat in his arms.

“I—I—“ Yuuri struggled, voice quivering.

“Because I don’t know about you, but I would like to start getting to know you outside of this place.” Viktor briefly looked about them, smile widening. “As lovely as it may be,” he teased. His eyes met Yuuri’s again.

“Yes,” Yuuri breathed. Then he ducked his head at the spontaneous eagerness of his answer. But Viktor’s hand squeezed his tightly. Yuuri risked a glance back up, and Viktor’s eyes were practically sparkling.

“Excellent! That’s—that’s—“ Viktor seemed to be the one at a loss for words now. He shook his head. “I’ll just… let you finish your work then, right?” But he didn’t let go.

And then Chris exited the office. Yuuri’s grip loosened on Viktor’s hand, but Viktor held on, unfazed and eyes still stuck on Yuuri, mesmerized.

Yuuri bit his lower lip as he watched Chris’s eyes drop to their clasped hands. His eyes widened. Yuuri almost started to worry that he was about to get in trouble for public display of affection on the job, but Chris’s face cracked a wild grin. He met Yuuri’s eye and sent him an exaggerated wink.

“Yuuri,” he said in his most faux professional voice. “I was thinking that I didn’t need you here for these last fifteen minutes. If you’re okay, you can go ahead and clock out early.”

Stupidly, Yuuri almost reminded Chris that he needed to count the drawer still, but then – _oh._ Yeah. Okay.

“Uh, thank you, Chris!” he tried, voice wavering a little. Chris merely raised his eyebrows suggestively. 

“What a nice boss you have, Yuuri,” Viktor commented. He and Chris’s eyes met, and a knowing look passed between them, but Yuuri hardly noticed.

“Let me just get my – let me change back into my day clothes,” he said, deciding he would be most comfortable that way.

“Sure thing,” Viktor agreed.

While Yuuri changed in the bathroom, he began to doubt that any of the events that had occurred within the past half-hour actually happened, but were a rather cruel conjuration of his lonely mind. However he could hear Viktor and Chris speaking casually at the front of the store. Viktor was there and waiting for _him._

He grabbed his phone before leaving the bathroom and shot Phichit a quick text:

_Be home late. Dinner with Viktor!_

Then he turned his phone off and stuffed it in his bag lest he and Viktor be interrupted by Phichit blowing it up all night.

When Yuuri left the bathroom, Viktor’s expression blanked at the sight of him. For a moment, Yuuri was self-conscious; did he look that bad? Or maybe Viktor had been planning on someplace fancy for dinner, and now it was awkward because Yuuri’s outfit was the opposite of that, with jeans cuffed off a little above his ankles, a simple shirt, and old sneakers.

But it occurred to him this was the first time Viktor was seeing him in anything that wasn’t a work uniform. Feeling a tad more confident, he nudged his glasses up and cleared his throat as he walked forward, gripping the strap of his bag slung across his shoulder tightly.

Viktor blinked hard a few times, running his fingers through his own hair; maybe it was the lighting, but his face seemed stained slightly pink. He straightened up when Yuuri was back at the front of the store.

Chris watched them the entire time with pleased amusement.

“Shall we?” Viktor tried, gesturing toward the door.

Yuuri nodded with a grin. “Thanks again, Chris,” he said as he walked passed his boss.

“You two better make it worth my while!” he called after them.

Viktor held the door open for Yuuri, and Yuuri stepped outside. Viktor followed him and, as casually as the situation permitted, draped an arm across Yuuri’s shoulders.

Very slightly, Yuuri leaned into Viktor’s side. He watched the concrete of the sidewalk, head lowered to conceal his wide smile. “So, where are you taking me?” he asked.


End file.
